"Are Talisman Masters Really This Profitable?"

"Impossible!!"

Fat Dragon shook his head resolutely. "Brother Qiu, don't worry. I'll definitely never have a use for this trait. Thank you for your kindness, Brother Qiu—I appreciate the thought. This trait should be saved for someone who needs it more."

To be honest, he often found himself deeply frustrated over why he had randomly gotten the Strength of Nine Oxen trait. And since it was an initial trait, he had yet to find any way to remove it.

But since he had drawn it at random, he had gradually come to accept the fact.

Compared to swinging a blade and castrating himself, he thought it would be better to stay as he was.

"Then we'll do as you say."

Chen Qiu said no more. He merely glanced over the auction item list. Quite a few things interested him, such as the green trait, "Self-Severing Root." Fat Dragon might have no use for it, but Chen Qiu certainly did.

A trash trait like this was perfect for him. Once self-destructed, it would unleash a full-power strike spanning an entire major realm—equivalent to the full-force attack of someone at the First Level of the Golden Core Realm.

This was a trump card to keep at the bottom of the chest.

Anyone without Strength of Nine Oxen or a similar trait definitely would not bid on this trait. After all, trading away their only balls for a random white or green trait felt rather unworthy.

Barring any surprises, this trait should not sell for too much. Perhaps he could even pick up a bargain.

"Alright."

He tucked the auction item list and the two invitations into his robes before turning toward the shopkeeper in front of him. "Let's go take a look at the talismans."

Half an hour later.

The two left this Zhao Clan Merchant Association shop, while Fat Dragon's face was filled with heartache. They had spent quite a few Spirit Stones in this store.

First were the talismans.

"Lightning-Drawing Talisman," an offensive talisman. It could call down a bolt of heavenly lightning to attack an enemy, equivalent to the full-force strike of someone at the First Level of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Price: two Spirit Stones each.

They bought one hundred.

"Golden Bell Talisman," a defensive talisman. Once activated, a golden bell formed from spiritual energy would protect the user's body and could block the full-force strike of someone at the First Level of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Price: four Spirit Stones each.

They bought one hundred of those too.

"Lightwind Talisman," an escape talisman. Once activated and affixed to the body, it made wind rise beneath one's feet, increasing movement speed by several degrees. Price: two Spirit Stones each.

They bought one hundred of those as well.

The talismans alone cost eight hundred Spirit Stones.

"Fucking expensive!"

"Are Talisman Masters really this profitable?"

Fat Dragon clutched the storage ring on his index finger, his face aching with pain. "If I'd had this many talismans in that little world a few days ago, I alone could have slaughtered my way through everything. Taking on a whole group by myself wouldn't have been a problem."

Chen Qiu merely shook his head and chuckled without saying anything.

All the gains from that little world combined had only amounted to fifty Spirit Stones, while these talismans cost eight hundred Spirit Stones altogether. With this many talismans thrown around, even a pig could rampage through that little world.

He had finally experienced how those young masters from powerful Lineages fought in this world. The essence of it was elegant money-burning.

The advantage of talismans was that they activated instantly. Though their power was slightly inferior to spells of the same name and grade, they did not consume the spiritual energy stored in one's dantian. Only a tiny amount of spiritual energy was needed to activate them.

The higher the grade of the talisman, the more spiritual energy it required to activate.

Take a Foundation Establishment Realm spell like the "Lightning-Channeling Art." For most cultivators at the First Level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, the spiritual energy in their dantians was only enough to cast it four or five times before being nearly drained. But if they used Lightning-Drawing Talismans, they would need to use over a hundred before exhausting their spiritual energy.

If the two sides fought under such circumstances—

Anyone could tell with their ass which side would win.

He had only bought talismans with power equivalent to a full-force strike from the First Level of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Defensive talismans cost slightly more than offensive ones and were rarer as well. Supposedly, defensive talismans demanded greater stability and were more difficult to craft.

Talismans with greater power were far more expensive.

For example, an offensive talisman equivalent to the full-force strike of someone at the Ninth Level of the Foundation Establishment Realm actually cost as much as three hundred Spirit Stones. That price was enough to buy a set of Superior Voice-Transmission Talismans.

For him, the cost-effectiveness was simply too low.

If he ever encountered a situation where he needed that sort of method, why would he use a talisman? He could just self-destruct a trait and smash out a full-force strike from the First Level of the Golden Core Realm. Wasn't that far more badass than any talisman?

Still, he had asked whether there were any Golden Core Realm talismans. The answer was no. Such talismans were extraordinarily rare, and not a single shop in Heaven-Question Market had them.

Aside from talismans—

They also bought a variety of miscellaneous items.

For example, three superior storage rings. Their capacity far exceeded storage bags, they were more convenient to retrieve items from, easier to wear, and much less likely to be lost. Even if one were lost, cracking a storage ring already bound through blood would require considerable effort.

Unlike storage bags, which anyone could use once they picked one up.

But they were not cheap either.

Three hundred Spirit Stones each.

Besides that, they bought all sorts of other things, spending another three hundred Spirit Stones. After a bout of lavish spending, they had spent a total of three thousand six hundred and seventeen Spirit Stones.

Chen Qiu sensed the large pile of Spirit Stones within the storage ring on his index finger and could not help shaking his head with a smile.

After spending without restraint—

There were still twenty-six thousand three hundred and fifty-six Spirit Stones in his storage ring.

He had not even spent the loose change. It gave him the feeling that he could never finish spending it. This savings should be enough for him to charge toward the Golden Core Realm.

Afterward, the two left Heaven-Question Market. They gave the Scholar and his younger brother a Voice-Transmission Ring each, handed them a storage bag containing three thousand five hundred Spirit Stones and several sets of clothes, gave them some instructions, then returned to Heaven-Question Market.

"Voice-Transmission Sub-Ring."

The Scholar sat cross-legged on the ground, watching Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon gradually disappear down the small path. Only then did he lower his head and look at the Voice-Transmission Sub-Ring in his hand. Whatever he thought of, after a long while, he suddenly shook his head and smiled.

This was no cheap item. Ordinary people could not afford it; one set was worth a thousand Spirit Stones.

At the peak of his life, when people of the jianghu had called him Great Xia's foremost sword cultivator, he naturally had not lacked Spirit Stones to buy a Voice-Transmission Ring. But in that final battle, one that had nearly claimed his life, he had fled in desperate disorder and abandoned everything.

That included the Voice-Transmission Ring he had once owned.

He shook the storage bag in his hand. There were three thousand one hundred Spirit Stones within. After remaining silent for a long time, he finally murmured, "Young Master Chen is rather generous."

Young Master Chen had given him three thousand five hundred Spirit Stones, including five hundred Spirit Stones as monthly pay. He had returned four hundred. Those five hundred Spirit Stones in monthly pay were truly too hot to hold. The two brothers had almost no means of attack and were not worth that price.

If he accepted five hundred Spirit Stones in monthly pay, he would feel unable to hold his head up whenever he faced Young Master Chen. One hundred Spirit Stones per month was already enough—far beyond the monthly income of more than ninety percent of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.

He knew full well that these Spirit Stones were payment for his life. Though Young Master Chen had not said so, since he had accepted the Spirit Stones, he would certainly make them yield their proper value.

At the very least, if—

His name spread once more in the future, the world could praise him for honoring righteousness and keeping his word.

It was not as if there had never been Attendants who fled with their employer's Spirit Stones. Their reputations, however, were usually terrible.

If Young Master Chen truly proved reliable, then it was not impossible for him to entrust his life to Young Master Chen. He only hoped that after his death, Young Master Chen could take good care of his younger brother. In this life, there were only two things he cared about.

The first was how the people of the world judged him.

The second was his younger brother.

Heaven-Question Market did not sell Heavenly Dao Treasure Jade. Only one place sold it.

"Heavenly Dao Pavilion."

It was several thousand miles from here.

"I'll have to make a trip."

The Scholar sat on the ground, gazing into the clouds at the horizon as he murmured. His fingers moved slightly, and a streak of azure light shot from his sleeve toward the eastern clouds, vanishing beyond the horizon in the blink of an eye.

.